No, not Lara, Toby, Tammy, and Josiah. These are the Kids at the Green Isle School where I was “tutoring” for three weeks. I mostly worked with Ricky (he’s the blonde, second from the right) and Cory (he’s the big guy in the back trying to strangle the two boys in front of him.) These are great kids that already have a couple of strikes against them and are probably carrying more “baggage” that I will ever carry. This first picture is the “official” one – the gang is more or less under control. (The girls are daughters of staff members and the guy in the front is Mr. Bill, one of the teachers).

This picture is a little more realistic!

It was a great experience, frustrating at times, but one that I’m thankful to have had. And it sure has given me something to pray about!

There are so many lakes in this area that I often wondered why the whole area doesn’t just sink! You’d be driving along with orange groves on both sides and suddenly there would be a lake on one side. Here are a couple shot from a nearby camp in Leesburg, FL. It’s called Camp Horizon and it is also a SOWER’s project. There are actually four projects within about a 30 mile radius, so we all got together for a pot-luck one night at Camp Horizon. It was a great time of fellowship – and another lovely location.

We’ve had a good week here at Green Isle. It’s been a week of watching acquaintances grow into friends. As we share our “stories” and look into God’s Word during our devotions, work together on projects, get together in the evenings for a game or two, and come together for a meal or two, folks that were strangers just two weeks ago are now dear friends. It certainly is one of the beautiful side effects of the Sower concept!

The weather was lovely until Friday when we had our first rainy and cold day since our arrival. Since it was our “day off” it was nice just to sleep in, do some chores and take naps. Gary worked on reorganizing a couple of cupboards while I sewed to my heart’s content. I was able to finish piecing Hayley’s quilt, so it was a good day indeed (at least for me!). We joined several other Sower couples at the Honey Pot Eatery (a local hot spot!) for their Friday night all you can eat fish fry. Yummmm. Saturday we drove to St. Petersburg and spent the day with my niece Christiana, nephew Mike and his wife Robyn. We hit the downtown market and wandered around Fort DeSoto. The weather wasn’t all that Florida-like (we have been very spoiled!), but we had a grand time none the less. Mike managed to fit in some fishing (he’s addicted), but after our outing we just hung around, ate pizza and watched Pittsburgh beat the Jets. Yes, a good time!

This is our last week here at the Boy’s Ranch. The tutoring is going pretty well – if I could just convince my guy about the value of reviewing the material before he takes the quiz. (Since I’m learning it at the same time he is, the review is pretty helpful (no, necessary) to me too!). Gary’s been tuning up all of the HVAC/R equipment, and that’s going pretty well too. (Here’s a “small world” event – when we went to the supply house in Orlando for parts, who should be working behind the counter but a fellow that had worked for us back in the eighties! My oh my!)

Did I tell you the Disney Truck delivers leftover Disney food here once a week…….we’ve had some pretty nice treats! Ah, sweet Charity!

We’ve had a quiet weekend here at Green Isle. We had had every intention of “seeing the sights” here in the Central Florida area, finding a wildlife refuge to visit or at least locating a bike path, but when push came to shove it was tooooooo nice just hanging around home. The weather has continued to be excellent, sunny and bright every day. We did some laundry, I got started on Hayley’s quilt and Gary putzed around building shelves in a couple of the storage bays. We joined some of our Sower friends for a nice dinner out. One of our neighbors went around and washed all of our cars! (We’ll have to watch for him on other projects!). We worshipped on Sunday at a dynamic church in Leesburg, Southpointe Baptist Fellowship, and were blessed by the fellowship. It was a lovely, laidback weekend.

Oh – while we didn’t get to find a wildlife refuge, some of the locals came for a visit right here at our campsite. These wood ibis (American storks) came to our little pond, just 20 feet or so from the front of our RV.

It was a VERY nice weekend!

We’re here just west of Orlando in Clermont, FL. We (and 12 other SOWER couples) are spending the next three weeks at the Green Isle Children’s Ranch – a residential school for boys ages 12 – 17. Gary is doing what he does best – checking out and repairing all of the A/C and refrigeration units, and I am doing tutoring. OK, stop laughing! All the work is done on computers, so at least I’m good with that! The weather has been beautiful (sunny and in the high 70’s), the fellowship great, and the work rewarding. This weekend we’ll check out some local sights – hopefully ones that do not involve the words “theme park”. Surely there must be a nice quiet State Park around somewhere! We’ll let you know……